Flu Relief

So everybody has the flu. That's really stinky. I hate that.

Not so much because I want everybody to be happy and healthy, but because I wanna do stuff and have nobody to do anything with.

So, I'm going to tell you what I just read last night. You can mix 2 oz of oil of oregano in 12 oz of water and gargle with it if you have a sore throat. Do that and swallow it once or twice a day. If you do that within 48 hours whatever ails will be ridden from your body leaving you good as new. Magic, you say? While it does offer magical results, its all scientific. Let me share.

Oil of Oregano is powerfully antimicrobial. It has been shown to kill bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, and yeast. And that's not all!

It works against food poisoning and digestive distress.

Its a powerful immune booster to protect against toxins. Its a natural antihistamine. And it inhibits the growth of cancer cells!

If you want to take oil of oregano as a daily supplement or at the first signs of illness, here's what you can do:

1. You can buy capsules and take them as directed on packaging.
2. You can dilute a drop of Oil of Oregano in a drop of Olive Oil and place under the tongue for a few seconds and then wash down with water.
3. You can gargle with it as stated above.
4. You can inhale a vapor of it for sinus infections. Boil 1/2 cup of water in 2-3 drops of the oil and inhale the steam.
5. You can put it directly on your skin for external infections. It'll probably sting a little. But the stinging should go away after a few minutes.

So, there ya go. Fight the Flu!!!


I wanna do stuff...and I need a sidekick.

Hello, Again!

Well, Hello there!

How have you been?

I've been okay. I've been busy with various things but I had to stop blogging about those things for a while.
Why? you ask? Well, let me tell you. I started having HORRIBLE anxiety issues and I don't know if it was BECAUSE of blogging or if I just DECIDED that it was because of blogging. It was very weird. And it was so bad that I couldn't even read a blog or hear the word blog without getting short of breath and feeling very weird.

Weird, huh?

Buuuuuuut, I'm better now and have things to tell you. I know, lucky huh?

Lots of things have happened since I saw you last. I've embraced my curly hair. I haven't blown it out in like 3 months. That's one thing.

My stepson got married. To a girl named Misty. His name is Robbie. My husbands name is Robbie. My name is Misty. Also weird. I like to call them Robbie and Misty Pearson 2.0. Or all of us Robbie and Misty squared. No one acts like thats so clever. Probably because they think its so clever and they have nothing quite so clever to say back to me. So they just stand there looking at me like I have a snake on my head, which I don't. Because they have nothing as clever to say. Yes. I'm quite sure that's it. I'll post pictures later.

I started cleaning Terry Bradshaw's pool. I met him. He's nice. I saw these two little guys on the way to Mr Bradshaw's house.

So, there's that.

I got some new baby chicks. I got them from Larry, the bird man down the road. I told him I wanted ten baby chicks because I use an old rabbit hutch as a brooder. Last time I got twenty of them and they got so heavy they busted out the bottom. When they hatched he called me and I explained the whole ratty brooder thing to him. Then he must have forgotten because he said " I know you only wanted a dozen of them but can you take fifteen?" "Yeah, sure. I guess it'll be fine." I replied. When I picked them up he said "I had extra so I gave you four extra." I don't think he was listening to me. So all nineteen go in the rabbit hutch brooder. I went out one morning and found this in there.

Yeah, its belly is full of 4 baby chicks! Here's what happened with THAT.

Before I begin....If you are a member of PETA or are a small, impressionable child read this paragraph and ignore the rest of the post.
I found this adorable, chubby creature in my chicken brooder one morning and I was so excited to have such a lovely visitor grace my chickeny home that I exclaimed "Why, Hello little fella! Whatcha doin? Where's your mama? You don't know? Well, let me help you find her." Then, I dressed him up in a little sailor suit (unless you're one of those PETA people that thinks dressing up animals in a sailor suit is torture. Then, I totally didn't do that. I dont really know whats  acceptable PETA behavior.) and buckled him up in THE BACKSEAT, BECAUSE ITS SAFER. PETA wink. and we drove around looking for the poor things mother. Of course we stopped for a healthy lunch, first. I couldn't have him getting hungry. He wanted candy but I said "No. It will rot out your teeth." I said that firmly but softly so as not to traumatize him by diminishing his feelings. After lunch, I took him to the park where we played and played. Oh, how we played! He said "You're the BEST!" I thanked him and said he has pretty hair. Then, we found his mommy. She thought he looked adorable. She gave me a big hug, thanked me for bringing her baby back and they slithered off into the sunset....

THE END

Nothing else happened. The rest of this post is just me ranting about what a raw deal rodeo monkeys get. Really. Trust me.


Okay, now for everybody else:

I totally stole that idea from Jenny Lawson's book. What a great way to avoid ugly lawsuits or at the very least someone throwing snake blood on me when I wear my faux fur jackets. I'm not technically against real fur. I just can't afford it. But, I digress.

I was on my way to work at Pearson Pools, your one stop pool shop, one Saturday morning where I work with my husband. Don't be jealous. Seriously, working with your husband is not as fun as it sounds.
Anyway, I was leaving for work and went in to check on the chicks and that snake was in there. I called Robbie and yelled "There's a snake in the coop!!!!! What do I do???" To which he replied "REALLY? A snake?" (okay let me insert here about how I anticipated his worry and undying love for me and his masculine need to save me as a damsel in distress. What he really said is...) "Thats weird...but more importantly how is that going to affect my breakfast?" To which I said "Breakfast?!? Gotta go, bye!"

Then, I immediately called Melanie and yelled "There's a snake in my brooder!!! What do I do? What do I do?" To which she replied, much more helpfully than the breakfast retort I might add "Get an axe or a machete and kill it."

Me: I don't have an axe or a machete

Her: WHO doesn't have an axe or a machete?!?

Me: Well, obviously I don't have an axe or a machete

Her: Well, okay then. Go in and get a big kitchen knife

Me: I don't HAVE  a big chicken knife either!

Her: No! I said a big KITCHEN knife. You need something you can strike down on it to kill it

Me: ummmmmm.....yeah, I aint doing that. I am NOT putting my hand close enough to the snakes head to let it kill me. Never mind, I'll figure something out.

So, I run into the house and wake up my 19 year old son. "Jake, Jake wake up!!! There's a snake in the chicken coop!! Do you want to shoot it?" He groggily shakes his head no. So I say "Well, what do I do??" He says in his sleepy teenager voice very unhelpfully (He is his father's son after all.) "Why don't you just go kill it with something?" Geee.....why didn't I think of that? :/

So, now I realize I'm in this all alone. Me against the world....er...snake. So I think....Hmmmmmm....We have guns. Shotguns and rifles but I don't know where the shells are. We have a hundgun that I'm sure is loaded but I think 'What are my odds of actually hitting a snake with THAT and I'd probably blow out the whole bottom of the brooder and then I'd really be screwed. So I ditch that idea and go into the shop and see what I've got to work with. I have a shovel, a hoe, (no not a 'ho! Although, she'd probably be pretty tough and might actually be more helpful than the males of my household.) and a sledgehammer. A sledgehammer!! Oh I can work with those!

So, I take my tools and go back into the coop. I lift the lid and take the shovel and very swiftly strike down on the snake behind its head. Well, that just pissed him off. Pandemonium ensues. He strikes. I scream and run. He can't get out of the brooder because hes so full of chicken. I calm myself by realizing that he didn't actually strike at ME but at the shovel and snakes aren't by nature super smart and probably doesn't even realize that I'M the one trying to kill him. So I go back in and do it again. And one more time. (crappy shovel is a piece of crap at killing snakes.) I ditch the shovel and pick up the hoe (which incidentally is what I wanted to use in the first place until Melanie told me a kitchen knife was a MUCH better idea. pssssh) I use the hoe to pull him out of the brooder at a nice, safe, leisurely if you will, distance away from me. I toss him over the chicken yard fence and then strike down with the sledgehammer. He gets a knot on his body from the blow but that didn't kill him either so I whack a couple more times. Finally! I think I got him.

That took like 30 minutes and Robbie was all "Sooooo, are you bringing breakfast anytime soon?" The rest of the day was pretty uneventful so I won't bore you with all that. I did have an event in my yoga studio that afternoon where I told my friends about the snake incident. One friend was getting a migraine and I asked her if she wanted an aspirin or something and she said "No, I need someone to just chop my head off." Then she realized what she just said in light of the snake story, and after a seconds thought said "But, NOT YOU!!"   I did go out later and buy a machete, some long hedgetrimmers, some screen material to staple around the brooder, and some stuff called Snake Repellant. Its made with cinnamon and cloves and stuff. It smells really good. In fact, as I sprinkled it all over the place I thought that it really freshened up the smell of the whole chicken coop. I thought 'I am kicking some serious snake ass tonight!'

Don't buy snake repellant. The very next night I went out and found another snake EATING a chick!!! This is what happened to that one

Thank you long hedgetrimmers!

A couple nights later I found yet ANOTHER snake in the brooder! I didn't take a picture of that one. It looks the same as the other ones, so why bother.

The chicks have been released from the brooder at this time.

Just tonight, I go out and there's yet ANOTHER snake making its way into my coop. Dangit! What the heck? (Except I didn't say Dangit or heck. I think I also said some other things that I'm not proud of but just escape from your body when you see a snake.) So, I killed that one too, which was much scarier because its mouth or belly wasn't full of anything. It was dark and I had to run away and get a grip at one point. On top of that, there is poison ivy EVERYWHERE!. The only thing I can say is.....Stupid snake repellant!
I am, however, becoming quite proficient at snake removal. And ironically, I now have 10 baby chicks! So I guess it all worked out for the best.

So, that's what's been going on with me.

Hmmm...what else? Oh yeah. I almost went to jail. We started selling hot tubs at the store. I went to Arkansas on a business trip. My mom thought I was going to get lost there. I didn't. I almost killed myself on a zero turn radius lawn mower. Aaaaaaannnnddd I got instagram for my android phone!

To keep with the theme, I'm sharing a recipe. I may or may not have already shared it. I don't know. Pioneer Woman also recently shared this recipe but trust me. It was mine first! I got this recipe over 20 years ago from my mom. She and her friend made these for my dad's birthday one year and it was a HUGE hit. The friend started making them and selling them in her bar and refused to give me the recipe. My mom said "She wouldn't give you the recipe?!? What the heck/ (except my mom doesn't say heck) Its on the bottle of the hot sauce!" Its on the bottle of Franks RedHot to be exact.  But, I'll give it to you anyway so you don't have to read the tiny writing on the hot sauce bottle. Its because I care so much. You're welcome.

Hot Wings:

5# cut up chicken wing pieces (yes 5#. Trust me)
1 bottle of Franks RedHot sauce (NOT the buffalo wing sauce!)
about 2T butter
oil for frying

Fry the wings in the hot oil. drain on paper towels.
In a saucepan or microwave, heat up the hot sauce and butter. (Do NOT breathe!! Its hot and you'll choke on the fumes. I wish someone told me that little tidbit! Again. You're welcome) Put the wings in a large bowl and pour the sauce over them. Stir to coat the wings and serve with Ranch dressing. You can use Blue Cheese if you prefer but here in Texas we like our Ranch. Then, and this is important. Not quite as important as not breathing and choking, but almost. Set the bowl down in front of your hungry men and then move back and get your hands out of the way quickly!

Okay. So that's it for now. I'll catch you up later on everything else. In the meantime, tell me what you've been up to.

This post is linked to Fight Back Friday and Barn Hop. Check 'em out!

She's Pretty And Frugal Too!

Do you ever sit around and wish you looked like this?

Or, as my husband says "THOSE kind of outfits."

To which I say "A Vicotria's Secret Model suit?"
He replies "yes"
I say "That's mean!"
Then, he, because he's soooooo funny says "Oh, I just mean you should get an outfit like that."

Uh-huh.

He says the same thing when he watches the Dallas Cowboys and sees the cheerleaders.

Well, I can't make you look like a Victoria's Secret model but I can give you a great tip that will keep you from looking like THIS and you won't have to spend a fortune either.

Don't believe me? Well, I don't look like that, now do I? And I'm about to tell you why.

Look over at my profile picture. Notice my nicely straightened, blonde hair. Yeah, my hair is really curly. I only look like that certain days of the month, usually after having just been to the stylist. Because my hair is curly and I live in north Texas I am constantly battling frizzy hair. Okay, I don't really battle it anymore. I've come to know this about myself and just go with it. For years, since my teens really, I've searched high and low looking for and buying products promising to make my hair shiny and pretty just like a model on a good hair day.

The only time I didn't have to use products galore on my hair to keep the frizz at bay is when I went with a friend to Phoenix to visit her mother and do some Monavie tastings. I took a shower and within an hour my hair was perfectly dry and beautiful. The only thing I did was wash it and put in a little mousse. It was all I had to use since I didn't pack any hair products. I was fully prepared to go all ponytail on its ass. It was truly amazing when I looked in the mirror. I thought 'Man! I'd move here just for THIS!' But, then my skin got all dry and wrinkly. My sinuses dried out and I could hardly breathe so I came home. I'm sure my family is glad. They don't care about my hair as much as I do.

I've spent trillions of dollars on hair care products and I just recently stumbled on this little beauty tidbit that, I kid you not, works way better and is cheap.

Since my hair is curly and *whispering*.....colored it tends to be on the dry side. Then add in the north Texas heat and humidity and you have a recipe for disaster frizzy hair. I only wash it a few times a week. The night before I wash it, I put about 5 drops of jojoba oil in my hand, rub them together and rub it into my hair. I go to sleep and let the oil do its magic. And I wake up to beautiful, princess-like hair! Well, after I wash it of course.

Its not all goopy like leave in conditioners, either. So you don't have to wear a cap and it won't make your pillow all greasy. It won't even turn off your husband when you come to bed in it. Especially if you get yourself a pair of those wings. I'm teasing, of course about the wings,  but you can seriously buy yourself some at this website save-on-crafts.com

See what a resource I am today? Hmmmmm...maybe I CAN help you look like a Victoria's Secret model.

You can buy that Desert Essence jojoba oil at Vitacost.com for less than 5 dollars.

BAM! another resource. I am on a roll today.

You just gotta try it to believe it. It really does work better than any high dollar, fancy shmancy stuff your hair stylist is selling. Believe me, I know. I've tried 'em all!


This post is part of Frugal Days, Frugal Ways and Fight Back Friday

*the photo credit for the ugly dog goes to Josephs Blog-O-Log

Stress Management

Coming from a "gym -y" background I spent years and years teaching aerobics classes, going to aerobics classes, teaching people how to teach aerobics classes, and I loved it. I still do. I haven't done it in awhile, however, because I got a little burned out. But, I'm starting to come around again. I don't really have time to commit to teaching it and I haven't found an instructor nearby that I like yet.

That being said, I've been teaching yoga for about the last fifteen years. I absolutely ADORE that, in addition to practicing martial arts for the last twelve years. In fact, I just opened a little yoga studio right behind my pool store, Pearson Pools you're one stop pool shop.
The yoga studio has been my dream for awhile now. Its finally coming to fruition. I love it when that happens!

Just the other day, I was reading The Yoga Journal online and came across an article that I found really interesting so I'm sharing it with you. You can read the entire article here Yoga For Health but I'm going to sum it all up for you.

Yoga is a very powerful tool in helping to reduce stress. Yeah, yeah, we all already knew that right? Right. But, what you maybe didn't know is WHY it reduces stress and you have to do it "right".

By "right" I don't mean you have to be proficicient in every pose. I mean you have to be present, focused on your breath and noticing the sensations in your body. When you do that, your body learns how to handle stressful situations in a healthy way. It actually prepares your body for stress, not just reducing it. That's exciting and its not all mental. There are actual physical things going on in your body and your brain making that happen.

The parasympathetic nervous system is the calming system in your brain. The deep breathing in yoga activates this system. The sympathetic nervous system is the active system in your brain. Its the one that kicks in triggering a "flight or fight" mode in your body when stress occurs.

Holding plank pose for an uncomfortable length of time triggers this sympathetic nervous system response. Hence, the feeling of "flight". You want to put your knees down and rest in child's pose. If you hold it and breathe, you trigger the parasympathetic nervous system to calm your mind down. In that single act, you're training your body to overcome challenges in other aspects of your life. In addition to that, you're creating balance in your body.

In 1997, The Newcastle University of England conducted a study on random sedentary adults. They split the group having half of them participate in a yoga program for six weeks while the other half participated in an aerobics program. At the end of the six week period, the yoga group had a lower resting heart rate while the aerobics group showed no significant change.

In another study done in 2007, at the University of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany, the researchers hooked up 11 healthy yoga practitioners to instruments that recorded heart rate variability for 24 hours. They found that during an active class of 60 minutes their heart rate rose. Then, they did 30 minutes of calming, restorative poses and their heart rate dropped even lower. Not only that, but this change was driven by increases in the parasympathetic nervous system with no change occuring in the sympathetic nervous system.
What this means is that the yoga participants were not only calmer after class, but they were in autonomic balance and flexibility which is required to handle stress effectively.

In addition, years ago while at the gym on the treadmill, I read a little blurb in Muscle and Fitness about a study on men. The researchers found that lifting weights increased levels of corisol in the body (sympathetic nervous system response). So they took a group of men lifting weights and split them into three groups. They all lifted weights but one group only stretched after. One group sat quietly and rested. And the third group did 30 minutes of yoga. Only the yoga group had decreased levels of cortisol. The stretching and resting groups had no change.

Now, here's the disclaimer. If you go to yoga and you only focus on mastering poses without any of the breath work or relaxation in savasana (corpse pose). You will not gain any of these benefits. So, if you come in to class rushed, push yourself into poses, and then leave during the relaxation part you aren't any better equipped to handle stress than if you'd lifted weights for that hour.

The key here in helping your body respond to stressful situations calmly is to interchange the harder, more physically challenging poses with calming, restful ones while paying attention to the breath and staying present and aware of the sensations of your body while in the pose.

The other key here is to enjoy savasana at the end of class. It truly is a great gift you can give your body in this rushed, multi-tasking world we live in.


Namaste.

Crash

I was tired, sunburned, bored, and ready to go home. Standing on a small farm to market road in Texas after a week of horseback riding a hard twenty miles each day. I was seventeen and on this road ride with my family, close family friends, and friends that we only see on this ride each year.

We had a wagon pulled by two white mules named Ass and Hole. I didn't name them, lest someone become offended. I'm just telling you that was their names. They were wild and fun much like my hairdo after 5 days on horseback and bathing in water holes with snakes. The two fifteen year old Jasons were sitting in the wagon watching the horses, mules, and ice chests while the adults went into the small bar to relax and celebrate the end of the ride.

I went into the bar with my parents looking forward to the air conditioning, the music, the pool tables, the FUN. I sat there, disappointed at the lack of excitement,  in the dark, quiet bar with a lot of tired adults. I got up to head outside to sit with the boys in the wagon.

So, I'm standing on the side of this farm to market road, an intersection of two small highways really. I saw one car coming toward me and patiently waited my turn to cross. A few seconds later, I see another car with his blinker on indicating a turn in my direction at the stop sign. Having forgotten the first car momentarily, I had the thought that I should hurry and cross so Blinker Dude can turn. I'm sure that he'll be annoyed at my slowness in crossing. So as not to annoy Blinker Dude I begin skipping across the street. I'm immediately reminded again of the first car because I hear brakes squealing and find myself lying on the street spinning on  my back. The thought I'm having now is 'I'm okay! I'm okay! I have to hurry and get up so they'll know I'm not dead. I bet they are scared and think I'm dead. I would be if I were in their place. I have to get up so they know I'm not dead."

All of this happens in the span of twenty or thirty minutes. In reality, only a few seconds have passed. I jump up as quickly as I can, throwing my hands in the air and screaming "I'm okay! I'm okay!"

On the side of the road is the small car that hit me having been driving at least 55 mph. In the car driving was a teen aged girl with her mother in the passenger seat. The driver was placated by my admissions of good health while the mother was.......no other phrase comes to mind but "FREAKED OUT", unable to let go of the trauma that just occurred to this out of town girl skipping across a highway, understandably so as I look back now as an adult.

The scenes that follow involve my dad calmly jogging out of the bar, my mother sprinting out of the bar, my dad restraining my mother, my mother fighting my dad, my dad yelling at her "She's OKAY! LOOK AT HER! SHE'S OKAY!", the other mother about to cry, the driver bored, waiting for her mother to finally admit that its time to go, ambulances, police, and two fifteen year old boys laughing because they missed the entire thing but saw me run back to the wagon in chest high weeds and I fell down.

More scenes that follow are the late night drive home with four people in a single cab pick up truck pulling a horse trailer with no brake lights, my dad getting pulled over, my dad going to jail due to an outstanding speeding ticket forgotten years ago, my mother, brother, and I waiting all night long in the police station parking lot hot, tired, sunburned, and cranky with a trailer loaded down with horses and camping gear.


Crash

Okay so this was a little different. I procured this word from Lance at My blog can beat up your blog The goal is to look at the word, think about the memory it evokes and write about that experience. Then, link back with your story in the comments.

Your word is Change

Meatloaf

Look at all that meat! Well, you probably can't tell what it is in that basket. The picture just looks like I've been stocking up on boxes and boxes of pork products. I assure you that I have not. That would just be weird. I bought that pork from a man selling meat door to door. Then, I gave meat as Christmas presents last year. Men like meat. See?? Not weird. I didn't give any to the ladies. That would have been weird. Ladies like chocolate. But, I didn't give any ladies chocolate either. I knitted things and you can't wear a chocolate scarf....How fun would a chocolate scarf be? Like those candy necklaces when you were a kid. You could stay warm and nibble on chocolate all day. Someone should totally invent that! I would wear it. Definitely. But, I digress. 

Yesterday, Robbie and I were hauling some hay out to the horses. On the way in, I went out to the freezer to grab some ground beef for chili. It was perfect chili weather here in north Texas, cold and rainy. The freezer door was stuck. That's weird. Its a small upright freezer. I yanked on it and when it finally opened I noticed that the ground beef on the door was thawed. OH NO!!! Then, I started grabbing the meat further in and its thawed too. And there's a big, giant glacier at the top of the freezer. The stupid glacier got so big it pushed open my door. It has a mind of its own. Meanwhile, much like what they had to contend with on the Titanic and their big, stupid glacier, I have to contend with all this meat. 

Okay, okay. I know that my problem is not nearly as big as the problems on the Titanic. I get it. But, it FEELS that big at the moment and that's GOT  to count for something, right?

What you don't see in the picture is about 8 pounds of thawed, grass fed ground beef, 2 pounds of free range chicken breast, 1 whole free range chicken, 2 Amy's Kitchen cheese pizzas, 3 Eating Right frozen dinners (which were thrown away. I don't even know how long they've been in there.) 2 Pork roasts, 2 pork loins, 1 package of grass fed filet mignon, and 4 packages of nitrate/nitrite free bacon, in addition to all the pork you see at the top. Stuck inside the glacier is a free range turkey breast, more chicken, and a few more cheese pizzas. I'm attempting to defrost said glacier in an attempt to free the trapped meat at this moment.

Also, as an aside, what you don't see is that my floors are really a gorgeous, golden, hand hewn, expertly polished, wide plank wood. You just can't see that because its hidden in ugly linoleum. Its really there. Just in my imagination. But, now its in your imagination too, and that's like having the real thing, right? Or is that weird too?

So, at first Robbie couldn't be more excited. He's watching football and looking at the prospect for a meat filled feast. I thought so too at first. Then I calmed down and realized that a lot of that meat was not quite thawed so I cleaned out the freezer in the house and stored it there. Then, I cooked some of the pork for dinner. (It wasn't very good. Don't buy meat from door to door salesmen.) I boiled a package of chicken for a soup later this week, I gave a few questionable packages to the dogs and cats. They were so happy, they acted like it was their last meal on the Titanic. But, I still have 6 pounds of ground beef, the filet mignons, and a small pork loin that needs to be cooked. I'm on the lookout for a pressure canner to can some of the beef.  Meanwhile, I can spread that much meat out over the week, cook it and freeze it for later.

Tonight we'll be having meatloaf. This is my favorite meatloaf recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 can (6 oz)  tomato paste
• ½ c dry red wine
• ½ c water
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ tsp dried basil leaves
• ¼ tsp dried oregano
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 c oatmeal
• 1 egg 
• ½ c shredded zucchini

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Combine the tomato paste, wine, water, garlic, basil, oregano, and salt in a small saucepan.
• Bring to a boil, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Set aside.
• Combine the beef, oatmeal, egg , zucchini, and ½ cup of the tomato mixture in a large bowl. Mix well.
• Shape into 4 small loaves and bake for about 20 minutes.
• Discard any drippings. Pour  the remaining tomato mixture over the top of the loaf.
• Bake for 15 minutes longer. Remove to a serving platter.
• If you don't want to use wine, you can substitute the wine and water for 1 cup of beef broth

I will probably double or even triple it up and freeze it for later. Then, I'll be making the chili, some chicken soup, and...... Oh gosh, I'm already getting tired thinking of it. I'll for sure have to grill up those steaks or else I'll be in trouble and get thrown overboard! Wish me luck because much like the frozen ocean water from the Titanic, its snowing here in north Texas and I won't last long. 

Okay, okay, I know its not really like the Titanic but in my imagination it kinda is, so that makes it kinda real, right? Is that weird?

This post is linked to Barn Hop, Real Food 101, Monday Mania, and Fat Tuesday

Warming Socks

I've decided. I'm not a winter girl.

Okay, I like it to be all snowy, cold, and dark for the holidays. I hate going out Christmas shopping in sunny, 70ish degree weather.Its hard to get into the holiday spirit. I don't know what you southern hemisphere people do at Christmas. BUT, other than that, cold is good for nothing. Well, I've heard its good for getting rid of bugs, but I'm becoming a little skeptical of that.

Last spring we had April  June bugs...in spring, not June....spring!! They were horrible, too. We had some weird, freaky little ants that apparently came from South America and are working their way north. And then we had the greatest fly invasion ever in the history of man. All this after the coldest winter we've had in decades and a record breaking heat wave this summer. So, the next time an old man says to me "Well, at least it'll kill all the bugs!" because he sees me wearing my ski pants around town when the temperature dips to unbearable levels, I'm going to kill him in a horrible knitting accident!

If you're an english teacher, I apologize. That may have been a run on sentence. I'm just going to say I'm sorry and excuse me instead of researching to see if I need to fix it. I need to tell you about this warming sock and then go hunt down my ski pants.

That little beauty in the picture above is going to be your very best friend in the whole wide world if you're a summer girl stuck in winter like me! If you get cold easily this is wonderful and super easy to make. I just grabbed an old sock. A long one is best. Then I filled it up 3/4 way full of rice. Use the white rice. You probably have some lying around and now that you're a real foodie, you aren't going to eat it anyway. And its cheap! Then, just because I love it so much and I have it lying around too, I added a little lavender. Then ,I just tied the end of the sock in a knot and bada boom, bada bing, all done.

Put it in the microwave for a minute or two and you have a homemade, moist heating pad. You should be using moist heat for muscular aches and pains anyway. Dry heat actually makes it worse.

You could also take it a step further and use some pretty or fleecy fabric and give them as gifts! I would totally love one as a gift. In fact, Melanie gave me a really nice one last year that was about 2 feet long with handles on it so you could hang on to it and warm up your back. I had to get rid of it though because my puppy pee'd on it. I washed it but.........its hard to relax thinking your warming yourself with puppy pee.

Hence the sock.

Alright, that's it for today. I have to go dig out my ski pants. Its only supposed to get into the 60's today. Brrrrrrrrr......

This post is linked to Tip Me Tuesday, Handmade Tuesday, Terrific Under $10, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways

Its Like Buttah!!

Oh CRAP!!

I'm looking in the refrigerator and see that I only have about 1/4 cup of butter left and I still need to make a pie crust AND have some for buttering rolls! We can't have Thanksgiving with no pie and we for sure can't have Thanksgiving with unbuttered rolls, even though they are the crappy, stupid Brown n Serve!

I know, I know....Brown n Serve! pfffft!

Robbie specifically asked for those. I said "Seriously? Cuz I could make some really good ones homemade, some really good yeast rolls."
Nope. Brown N Serve. Fine. At least it'll save me some time. Okay.

Jake specifically asked for "Thanksgiving mac & cheese" which in reality is my mother in law's recipe. This is the recipe: She whips open a box of Velveeta Shells and Cheese every Thanksgiving for the kids that may or may not want her store bought potatoes and dressing to go along with her opened cans of corn and green beans.
Again I said "Seriously? Cuz I could make some homemade that'll be really awesome."
Nope. Velveeta. Okay, at least it'll save me some more time.

And then, I'm back in the fridge wondering what to do about the butter situation. We live 20 minutes outside of town and I'm not about to stop cooking to make a trip in and I know that nobody else will either. Hmmmmm....I wonder if I can make that quarter cup be enough for both? All I need to do is divide it smartly. I was a science major in college. I should be able to figure this out. Also, just FYI, I was secretary of the math club in high school. That's not really pertinent to this story or anything else in life really. But, I just like to throw that out there every now and then, when the opportunity presents itself. Otherwise, being secretary of the math club has no real benefits.

But, back to the butter. I tried different divisions. Maybe if I cut it THIS way? Nope. How about THAT way? Nope. No matter what I do or how I divide it, I STILL only have 1/4 cup of butter and it STILL isn't enough. *sigh* Thanksgiving is ruined.........But, wait!!!!!

I've heard of people making their own butter. And they weren't even amish!

I was in an antique store last spring with a friend and saw these cute, little, wooden butter churns. I said "oooooh, I need to get one and try making butter!" My friend said "......yeah, OR you could just use your blender. Its way faster."

In light of my current butter crisis, I pulled out some cream. Coffee be damned, we're in crisis mode here! I poured it into a bowl and used my whisk attachment on my mixer. All I did was whisk up the cream * take a little taste...don't judge...I dare you NOT to taste some freshly whipped cream! You can't, can you?* until it turns really crumbly and yellow. Then, I whisked it a little more until it turned into a solid lump.

You have to pour out the buttermilk.

PSA -  Please don't throw it away. Pour it into a clean jar for use in a recipe. Its not as acidic as the buttermilk you get at the store, so don't use it in place of buttermilk. Use it in place of regular milk.

After you pour out the buttermilk, dunk your lump of butter into an ice cold water bath. Then, massage the butter to try and get out some more of the buttermilk. If you skip this step, your butter will be rancid in a couple of days.

The whole thing only took about ten minutes! It was a miracle I tell you. A Thanksgiving miracle. I turned cream into butter. Not quite as impressive as Jesus turning water into wine, but hey! I'll take it.

So, what happened next? Well. Then angels started singing, Robbie said "Are you almost done with that? I'm trying to hear the game." and I yelled "Yeeee-Haww! I just made my own butter!!!!" and he said "Were they out at the store??"

He just doesn't get me. But, he DOES love a good, buttery Brown n Serve roll.

Brown n Serve! pffffffftttt!


And THAT is the story of how I saved Thanksgiving!

I must say....I'm feeling very super-heroish. Go try it and we can be super heroes together.

This post is linked to Fight Back Friday, Farmgirl Friday, Homestead Revival's Barn Hop, and Monday Mania Although, they'll probably kick me out because my husband made me heat up those stupid rolls!!

Love Is In The Air

Listen to this while you read the rest of this post.

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the bees are buzzing. There is love in the air. Its warm, springtime weather.......

Except its not.

Its overcast. The birds are all hunkered down (which reminds me, I need to put out birdseed later.), I haven't seen a bee in awhile, and Thanksgiving is later this week. BUT.......There is love in the air.

Just yesterday, this girl was just a baby.

Her name is Harley and she was sweet, cute, obnoxious, hyperactive, and beating up on this guy.

His name is Festus and he is literally hiding from her. He's a big lug. Not smart enough to realize he's not hidden in my lush, trumpet vine. Except its not. Don't judge my poor trumpet vine. We had a horrible drought this summer. In its defense though, this IS the lushest its been all summer.

Just yesterday, for real, I came home and saw a few strange dogs hanging around. I thought, 'hmmm...that's weird.' and Festus looked like we was guarding her. He was circling her with low growls coming from his throat, following her every movement. hmmmm....curious. Usually, he's good heartedly trying to get her off of him while she's pouncing on him.

Robbie was already home. When I walked in he said "I think somethings wrong with Harley. She looked funny." I immediately walked outside, worried,  to look at her and saw Festus licking her and rubbing his head on her like he was hugging her. Uh-Oh. She growled at him and he immediately backed up and sat down very attentively. Uh-Oh. That's different.

I walked back in and said "I think Festus is in love."

He doesn't leave her side. They are very cute little lovebirds.

(They've been swimming in our stock tank. They usually look much cleaner than this. Nah, not really. They are ALWAYS swimming in the tank.)

And I don't even KNOW who this little Casanova that just started hanging around is.

Since its not springtime and even though love is in the air, its cool out and a girls gotta feed the family! Its chilly outside and that made me think of chili.

Lucky for you, I'm posting it, cuz its gooooood!

You need:

1# of ground beef (grass fed of course)
1/2 chopped onion
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can beans (any beans will do. just pick your favorite)
1 container of V8 Bold and Spicy
2T buckwheat flour (you could use any flour or thickening agent or none. Its up to you)
1/2 C water

spices to taste:
garlic
salt
pepper
chipotle chili powder
ground red pepper
cumin

In a semi large pot, brown ground beef (if you use grass fed, you won't have any grease to drain.) and saute the onion with it. Add everything else, except the flour and water, in the pot and let it simmer about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix the flour with the water to make a roux. Add into the pot. stir it in and simmer, stirring occasionally until its the thickness you want.

Eat it while its hot.....like my dogs.

....Too far?

Yeah, I thought so.  Oh well, try the chili while I mourn the loss of my dog's innocence. It really is like having a teen aged daughter. Except its not. But, how would I know. I have boys. There's probably a girls mom somewhere right now blogging a picture of my son with a mustache calling him a casanova.....deep, huh?

This is linked to Sunday Night Soup Night, Barn Hop, and Monday Mania.  Check em out!

Homemade Yogurt

Bam!!! That JUST happened!!

Did you see the movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby? If you did then you know what I'm saying. If you didn't well, then never mind. Its not really relevant. A funny movie for sure, but not relevant to this particular post.
I do find myself thanking the baby Jesus a lot after seeing that movie. Again, sorry for the reference if you haven't seen it. So just go see it already. In fact....don't go see it. Its not at the movies anymore. Go rent it or better still, download it from Netflix and watch it right now. Then, come back and read this post about yogurt.

Okay. So you're back! Funny movie, huh?

I made my own yogurt!!!

It worked!!!

Okay, so here's how I did it so you can make your own yogurt too. I bought some raw milk from a local dairy. Let me send a shout out to ma homies at the Dry Valley Dairy in Forestburg, TX. Their milk is from Jersey cows so its full of grass fed, fatty goodness. And they're great people too. And the milk is only $4/gallon. Can you believe it?? There is another dairy in town too. They're closer to me and also great people but their cows are Holstein and not quite as fatty and its $6/gallon. Its called the Neu Dairy. I like me some fatty milk, yo.

 Sorry, Robbie and I have been watching Breaking Bad on Netflix and I find myself talking like a Madskills Drug Dealer. I can't help it. A drug dealer that likes raw dairy...without drugs in it...whatever.

Anyway, I also have some yogurt starter that I got from our local co-op. Its called Yogourmet. I also have a kefir starter. In each box there are 6 packets of probiotics ready to be made into yogurt. When I ordered it, I said "I want one of each yogurt and kefir starter" thinking I was going to get a box of each. But, no....I got a CASE of each!

So, if you want some, leave a comment with your email. I will email you to get your mailing address and send it to you for FREE!!! Then, you can make your own yogurt or kefir if you'd rather. I'll tell you that kefir making is much easier. I'll share later in another post.

Okay, so here's how it works. I took a quart of milk and heated it up to about 150 degrees F over a medium, low heat stirring occasionally. Then, I filled my sink about halfway with ice water and carefully lowered the pan into the sink to cool it off. Once it reaches about 78 degrees F, remove about 1 cup. Mix in the yogurt starter (you can also use yogurt you have on hand as a starter. I wouldn't use any yogurt thats full of sugar and junk. Kind of defeats the purpose I think.) Mix it in really well and add it back into the pot.
Then, pour your yogurt into clean jars.

This is the cool part. I got this idea from laurelofleaves. She's right. Its almost so easy its scary.
I filled up a hot water bottle, put it on the bottom of a regular, old Igloo cooler (any insulated cooler will do.) placed my yogurt on top of it. I wrapped a couple of big towels around them to keep them from tipping off  the water bottle. I placed an old pillow on top of them, tucked them all in, shut the cooler and went about the rest of my day. You can let it stay there as long as you want. I started mine at about noon yesterday and pulled it out this morning at about 8:00. I put two of them back in, because they seemed a little too liquidy.

I put this little jar of awesomeness in the fridge to stop the process. You have to do that. But, before I did, I took a teeny, tiny, little taste of it. Guess what it tastes like.

Go on, guess!

It tastes like YOGURT!!! Yay!!!

Go try it. Its fun!

This post is linked to Barn Hop and Monday Mania

Granny P's Dumplings

In the south, dumplings are a staple in the winter diet. In addition to that, southern women take pride in their dumplings more than anything else. You can tell a southern woman that her children are unruly and she will "yank a knot in their butt". But, you tell her that her dumplings suck and well....I almost don't want to tell you its so scary. Just....run. Beware...and..RUN!!!

My Granny P has 'em all beat. Hands down. They are the best. Her last name is Pitman. That's where the P comes from. I didn't know that all going up. In fact, I never even questioned it. Honestly, as a kid I thought her name was Granny Pee. Like she had bladder issues or something. She doesn't. Well...I don't know. She's no spring chicken, so she might. But, I do know that back then she didn't. My other Granny's name was Granny Grunt. I never questioned that either up until a few years ago. I mentioned something about my granny and Robbie said "which one?" and I said "Granny Grunt". He asked "Doesn't it bother her that ya'll call her that?" to which I replied all annoyed "Pffft! No. Why would it bother her??? That's her name." Then, I thought about it a minute and thought 'hmmmmm....I never thought about.....I wonder if it DOES bother her. We've been calling her that for 40 years and she's never said anything.' So I asked my mom. She giggled and said "It used to bother her but not anymore." to which I asked "Soooo...if it bothered her, why did we start calling her that?" and she said "Cuz your dad and I thought it was funny."

Well, okay then.

It reminds me of my first job out of high school. I worked at a daycare center with 3 and 4 year olds. We had a substitute come in and ask a little boy who lived with his dad and grandma about his family. She asked him his dad's name. He told her. She asked him his mom's name. He said "I don't have a mom. I have a Nana." She said "What's your Nana's name?" to which he replied "She doesn't have a name......that's why we call her Nana."

My friend Melanie has her grandkids call her Bubbles. How fun is that???

My mom's name is Betty Jo. She doesn't like to be called Betty so everyone calls her Jo or Jody. My brother and I have our kids call her Mammy Jo. We think its cute. In light of the Granny Grunt issue though maybe we should have had them call her Betty Poop!! Its called karma. Its a........well, you know. Oh well. She lucked out because we're such great kids.

Whether you have a Granny, a Nana, a Wicked Stepmother, or a Labrador Retriever.....You're gonna love this!

Granny P's Dumplings

(This makes a lot, so you need a big pot)


1 whole chicken

6C flour
2t baking powder
3T salt
1C butter
6 eggs
 up to 1C water

In a big pot, boil your chicken in water. When the chicken is cooked pull it out and let it cool. shred loosely the meat from the chicken, season with salt and pepper to be added back in later.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter until it looks like pea sized grains in the flour. Make a well in the center. Add eggs and about 1/3c of the water. Use a fork to beat the eggs and water pulling in the flour mixture from the sides. Continue mixing and adding more water as needed. If it gets too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour. Once its in a ball, knead the dough until its easy to work by hand, just a few minutes. You don't want it too sticky or too dry. Its very forgiving though. You can add more water or flour as needed to make it "kneadable".  Pinch off  marble sized pieces, roll it longways, so its about the size of your finger. Then flatten them out, lay them out until they're all done. Its a little time consuming but worth it. Have the kids help. They love it.

Bring your chicken broth to a boil. Drop in dumplings without overcrowding the pot. They need room to "roll". Stir, cover, lower the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

My favorite part is they are not creamy. They are very brothy and delicious. My family's favorite.

Thanks Granny P!!! :)

Tell me what you call your grandma and your favorite thing she makes.

This is linked to Sunday Night Soup Night

New Danger In Fried Foods

Check out the label on this Happy Meal box.

Its crazy!!! Its like the label on cigarettes. I once saw a comedian talk about the cigarette industry being cocky. They can put a label on their product telling you its gonna kill you and you shouldn't buy their product but they know people will buy them anyway. He said it much funnier. You had to be there.

That's what I thought of when I saw this Happy Meal picture. People will still feed this to their children.

I'm not a fan of McDonald's foods by any means but I say Kudos to them for putting that on the label. They didn't have to. As they've stated, the FDA doesn't tell us that there's anything wrong with fried foods other than saturated fat causing cholesterol.

*as an aside, it occurs to me that maybe the FDA is really trying to slowly kill us off with food....hmmmmm....makes ya think.*

I was reading another article somewhere about this very issue...fried foods, not the FDA conspiracy that I don't have time to prove. In the article, it stated that a by product of turning foods, mostly starchy foods, into a  golden brown is acrylamide, a chemical thats been shown to cause cancer. I know....that really sucks. I just wrote an article a few weeks ago about which oils are safe to cook with and then I wrote about some super delicious homemade eggrolls. Now, I can't eat them anymore. They were really good too!!! I even bought some duck fat (very expensive by the way and not nearly as tasty as bacon grease!)

So now we need to be careful eating any starchy foods that have been either fried or baked to a golden brown color. Yes, even baked!! Baked and boiled potatoes are still healthy to eat, but not fried. No baked breads either. This is all pretty new information, I think. So it takes me a minute to wrap my head around it. I'm sure more research is on the way and I'll be looking it into further.

Just know that its out there

Lurking behind your mama's fried potatoes and dinner rolls (And biscuits!!!! Crap, I forgot about biscuits...Dangit!)

Offering up a worse punishment than having to graduate up into your fat pants!

Beware. Seriously. Be aware.

Luxury Soaps

Is there anything more luxurious than hand made soaps, mildly scented, softly lathered and creamy?

Fur undies, maybe but I don't know where to get those and even if I could, I wouldn't wear fur down there........It would make my butt look big.

I buy Caldrea hand soap and lotion from a little shop here in Gainesville called Bella Matiz. Check out their facebook page here Bella Matiz.

They come in wonderful scents like Sea Salt Neroli, Lavender Pine, Basil Blue Sage, and more. All of their products are earth friendly and biodegradable, as well as being scented with essential oils. They even have products for laundry, kitchen counters, dishes, and babies. The scent I currently have in my kitchen at work is Sandalwood Riceflower. My favorite one, they don't make anymore, is Green Tea Patchouli.

The prompt for this post happened when I went to the kitchen to wash my hands and make myself and my darling husband a RVL shake for breakfast. I love the warm water really steamy as I'm a summer girl and its frigidly cold here in north Texas. I think its probably gonna snow, maybe get icy, maybe a blizzard. Its 60 degrees out..... brrrrrrrr.....Okay, maybe its just the shake. Nevertheless, I really do enjoy the really warm water. Its not so friendly on the hands though. They need a little lotion. Okay, a lot of lotion. My husband likes it when I rub his back because it rubs and scratches at the same time..I wan't trying to be scratchy...

So, I went in there to get some lotion and I came back to the front and he said "Man, I HATE the smell of that soap!!" I said "Its my hand lotion." He said "I HATE the smell of that hand lotion. Can't you find some that's more neutral smelling with no scent or some that smells like chicken wings?"

Since I love Caldrea, I'm going to write them a letter and tell them they need to institute of line of Man friendly scents like chicken wings or dog's breath or fish bait or man toots. I know the last one seems like I went a little too far. But, I know men...and I don't think I went too far at all. I think I probably didn't go quite as far as I could have.

Here's one of the products from the new line:

Okay, maybe that was a little too far.

But, I don't think so. I probably could have gone much further....but, since I'm lady, I won't.





Mocha Frappuccino

Who doesn't love THIS?

Well, I can tell you how to make THAT only a whole lot healthier with THIS.

This is so amazingly simple I'm almost embarassed to tell you how to do it.....ALMOST.

Seriously, I see so many people running to Starbuck's to get their coffee fix and I just think NOOOO! WHY?? Well. I KNOW why. A friend of mine works there and the poor girl who is a tiny, little, waif of sweetness gets berated by angry coffee drinkers ALL THE TIME! I'm amazed. Apparently people get cranky before they've had coffee. I think she should keep a spray bottle of water (or hydrochloric acid...um...just kidding...or am I?) to spray those angry fools in the face when their manners are bad. Don't say anything, just smile sweetly and spray every time they say something rude. Then only respond verbally when they behave themselves. I think it could work. I would do it. In fact, I want to go get a job at Starbuck's right now so I can try it out and see if it works. Purely as a scientific endeavor of course.

All that being said, I love the ambience of Starbuck's too. I love the music, the lighting, the lure of the fresh pastries, and the smell. OH! The Smell!! Is there anything more heavenly smelling than freshly brewed coffee? I think not. Well, okay, freshly bathed babies smell pretty darn good too. Its a draw.

What I don't like about Starbuck's is the coffee. Sorry, but true. It tastes burnt to me. I like their Mocha Frappuccinos though. They are super delicious but  loaded with all kinds of sugars and calories. Very occassionally, I would go in and buy one, but only if I skipped dinner or lunch or a weeks worth of meals to account for all the calories. Who am I kidding. I can't skip a meal. Now, this song comes to mind:

I can't help it. Sorry.

Lets pretend that didn't just happen.

Because what I REALLY got up to tell you this morning is how you can make the lovely mocha frappuccino at home and its really very healthy. I've seen lots of recipes on the net for diy concoctions and they are less expensive for sure. But, they are loaded with sugar as well. In fact, really its just espresso, sugar, milk, and whipped cream. That makes my tummy hurt just telling you about it.

My way is actually a meal replacement. It tastes good, you can give it to your kids, minus the coffee of course. Or...with the coffee...your call......but I don't think....its a good idea.....But, hey! I don't judge.

So, here's what you do:
In a blender, mix 8 oz water, 5 ice cubes, 1 packet Monavie RVL, 1 packet Stevia, and 1 packet of Starbuck's Via. Blend it all up until its frothy and creamy. I kid you not, it's delicious. Plus, it only has 190 Calories with the anti-oxidant equivalent of 10 servings of fruits and vegetables. You can't get that at Starbuck's or even your own diy version with milk and sugar.
And because its loaded with nutrients you really can give it to your kids! Especially if they are like my kid and are picky eaters that think vegetables are in the same food group as rat poison.

If you want to try some, leave a comment with a way to contact you and I'll send you a packet of RVL for free. It also comes in vanilla. The vanilla mixed with a little PB2 powdered peanut butter is absolutely to die for. It tastes like a pb milkshake and still full of nutrients without a lot of added calories. In your comment let me know if you want to try Chocolate Berry or Vanilla.

If you want to learn more about RVL and the ingredients go to this website Monaviervl.com. If you want to order some, go to my website on the right hand side.

Have your Mocha Frappuccino, be a little healthier, and don't listen to the Chipmunk's. They're Chipmunks for Pete's sake! What do they know about beauty trends? They don't even wear pants!!!


This is linked to Monday Mania and Barn Hop. A couple of other healthy living blog carnivals. Go check em out!!

Creating Jobs

This is soo great!

BlogHer.com has partnered with Starbucks and Opportunity Finance Network to get the word out about Create Jobs for USA

Here's the deal. Everyone is worried about jobs and the economy. This organization is collecting and then donating money to help small businesses and entrepreneurs. I absolutely love this and will gladly donate to this very worthy cause.

As an entrepreneur and small business owner myself, I can totally relate.

About 8 years ago, my husband, Robbie, and I decided to start a swimming pool service business. Because he was working at an auto dealership selling cars and I was staying at home and home schooling our son, we decided I would get it started part time while he continued to sell cars. We literally started from nothing. We learned the legal issues necessary for our industry and since we were too late to be entered in the local phone book, we ran an ad in the paper. We then got set up with a distributor, bought about $300 in supplies and home office equipment, and became official business owners. We worked from home for about 5 years gradually growing our service business.

In addition to that, we found a network marketing business that we just loved, Monavie. We really weren't looking for a network marketing business at the time, but Robbie was having some serious health issues and this worked for us miraculously. We really only started that business to get our products free. We fell in love with the company and decided to work that business part time while we build our pool business and Robbie's car selling job.

Right around that time, the car business really started to tank. He worked for a GM dealer and we all know where that went. They kept re-structuring his pay plan so that every time he started to make some really good money, they would basically take it from him. We learned that some companies don't like to give too much money to their employees, even though he was working on straight commission. Every day he would tell me how much he hated his job.
Meanwhile, the pool business was growing and I began to notice that there are a lot of swimming pools in our area with homeowners taking care of them themselves. To buy supplies, they had to drive at least 30 miles in either direction to the nearest pool store. Every time he told me how he hated his job, I suggested he quit. He wasn't making any money anyway and working really long hours. He wouldn't quit. He was afraid. He was afraid that a pool store would cost too much money and couldn't support itself. I assured him that the store would make more money than the service business but his insecurity outweighed his desire for job freedom.

Every night he went to bed afraid. He told me through all 3 rounds "I think I'm gonna lose my job tomorrow." Then on the 4th round, he called me that morning and said "I just lost my job." While that scared me a little too, I said "THAT'S GREAT!!! We can open our store now. This is really the best thing that can happen to us." I didn't want him to know that I was a little scared too, but I knew in my heart that I was right.  He didn't really believe me but went along anyway.

*As an aside: Its my belief that in a marriage or partnership, only one person can freak out. The other person is responsible for being the calming influence. Every now and then, I have to remind my husband that its MY turn to freak out!! He's a good sport about it. :)*

That was 3 years ago and our business has continued to grow and expand. In fact, this winter we're going to be selling 2 lines of hot tubs. That's in addition to the fact that we've also just recently partnered with a local pool builder as well as selling above ground pools.

Every now and then, as he tallies up the total income for the day, he says "Man!!! Who knew it would could be this great?"  I slowly raise my hand. :)

I feel blessed that we decided to start the business before we needed to while we didn't really need the money. I also feel like God has been guiding our path each step of the way. I feel blessed for the Monavie business, because the extra income there has been HUGE as well as the health benefits we've received. I truly don't think we could have done this while Robbie was in such poor health. Because of all that, we were able to start our pool business without having to borrow money. In addition to all that, I haven't really noticed any drop in business due to the economy. However, we did open the store in a bad economy and it's never really come back yet. So, who knows how great it could be when the economy DOES turn around.

I'm listening to an audio book right now written by Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki entitled The Midas Touch: Why Some Entrepreneurs Get Rich - And Why Most Don't.   I recommend everyone considering business ownership read that book.
One of my favorite things in the book is when they talk about how too much education is actually detrimental to effective business ownership. Too much education leads to too much specialization. In business, one needs to know a little bit about every aspect of their business. So a person would be better off learning all they can about business, sales, marketing, technology, legal aspects specific to their industry, and accounting instead of focusing only on their talent or specialization.

My philosophy has been from the get-go, if you don't have a job...make one! Create Jobs For USA is helping people do just that. Go check it out and if you feel called, give em a donation. Its a heckuva lot better than waiting for the government to take care of us all!

Best Ever Cheeseburger Soup

Okay, I have the absolute best soup recipe EVER!!!  That includes my chicken tortilla soup, which my family just loves. There are loads of chicken tortilla soup recipes so I'm not posting that one.

THIS, though.....THIS is amazing!

I could hurt myself eating it. I crave it. I gots to have it.

So... my darlings, here it is.

2T butter
1# ground beef
1C diced onion
1C diced tomatoes (I used fresh)
1C diced carrots (I used pureed bc I have to sneak it into my family's food. They are babies. Baby men)
3 cloves minced garlic
1T basil
salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a large pot. Brown the beef and sautee the veggies and spices.
Add

3C chicken broth
2C cubed potatoes

Bring to a boil. Let simmer until potatoes are just done.

Add 1 1/2C milk

simmer and add

2C cheese (I used 1C velveeta and 1C cheddar)
1/2C sour cream
1/4C ketchup
2T mustard

Then, enjoy this warm, steaming pot of autumnal love!

Okay you may be sitting there thinking 'That sounds really good, buuuuuut......what's with the freaky, bloody gnome????'
Well, I took a picture of the soup and tried to upload it. But, I deleted it before it was actually finished loading. I'm no photographer. I tried, I really did. Im the person that always snaps the picture just a fraction of a second too late. Always.

So, I don't have a picture of the soup.

Because we ate it.

Its gone.

I told you it was delicious.

So, since its Halloween and I don't have a soup picture, you get to see the bloody gnome that makes me laugh and laugh. Mwaahahhaahhaa!!!

(that was my scary Halloween laugh)

If you want to know more about the bloody gnome and his misadventures at my workplace, read this My honey and I work together...with zombies....

This post is linked to Monday Mania and Barn Hop  and Sunday Night Soup Night check em out!!